Dear Harry
by Pennstance Flinn
Summary: A series of one-shots documenting characters' letters to their eleven year old selves. Chapter One: Dear Hermione
1. Dear Hermione

**Hi all! This is just a little plot-bunny I got last year at the close of the Potter film franchise. It's fun to get inside all of these characters' heads...**

**Each of these will be little one-shots. So far I'm planning on writing for the trio, Neville, and Draco. Further additions could be negotiated :]**

**Enjoy!  
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Dear Hermione,

I'm not going to sugar-coat this any more than I need to: you're sort of a nerd right now. Believe me, I know. Right now you're probably trying to figure out what kind of magic this letter possesses and worrying if it's dangerous or not. You always were a bit of a worry-wart. I still am, in a way.

People will think you're odd, at first, because you're smart. You know this already. You're teased because of your intelligence and you're an outcast. That won't last forever. Believe it or not, that Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley that you keep running into will turn out to be your two best friends. They'll love you and accept you for the know-it-all you are.

You're about to go way in over your head. Starting at the end of this school year, you'll be facing things that normal witches and wizards never face in a lifetime. Problems that you can't solve with books or spells or puzzles. It's not just boys (although you'll encounter some interesting challenges on that front as well); your teenage years will be shrouded in something much more sinister. It's life-changing, having friends as close as Harry and Ron. However, as you've probably figured out, Harry comes with a lot of baggage. It's also life-changing having to deal with the fear of losing him, the concern for his well-being, the worry whenever you see him in pain. It's a different sort of fright that I can't expect you to understand at this point. It becomes very real when you realize that your best friend is continually hunted and that every day could be his last.

When you think of that, your own struggles and your own pain sort of take a backseat. Maybe that's why you'll be so strong through everything that's to come. You're selfless, and you have a fearless heart in you. You have a unique drive—you don't care what others think if there's something you truly believe in, and you should never let that go. Your self-confidence will grow. Just give it time. You may just think you're a bushy-haired, buck-toothed know-it-all, but you have something special blossoming inside of you. Remember that.

Good luck,

-Hermione Granger in six years

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**Reviews are welcome! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Dear Ron

**Hello again! Thank you so much for the kind reviews!**

**In typical Ron fashion, this letter is a little on the short side. Enjoy!**

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Dear Ron,

Uh, I don't really know what to tell you. My life's changed so much from my first year at Hogwarts…it's hard to process, really.

This may sound a little odd, but I know what you're feeling. You know. You've always felt rejected by your family, always less than your brothers and sister. Yeah, maybe it's not fair to feel jealousy toward your family, but it won't end there. Have you ever felt jealousy toward your best friend Harry? Won't be the last time. Sure, he's the best friend you've ever had and will ever have, probably, but he can cause you a lot of grief. Don't let it get to you. He's a good man.

All that jealousy stuff shouldn't bother you too much, though. There is a reason you're in Gryffindor, I promise. And not just because your whole family was there. You've got this courage thing inside of you that people don't always see at first glance. It's there, trust me. What people may not realize at first, also, is your loyalty. Just wait. Good things are going to start coming your way in the midst of all of the bad.

Girls? You'll have your fair share of trouble with them as well. They're tricky. There is…one girl. She's special, and you'll realize who she is. Maybe I'll even tell her one of these days.

Good luck,

-Ron Weasley in six years

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**Thanks for reading! I appreciate any and all feedback!**


	3. Dear Harry

**Hello! Sorry for the delay in updating, but I hope this chapter is at least somewhat worth it. Here's the boy wonder himself, the first chapter I actually wrote. Harry feels a bit like a close friend to me, as I'm sure he does to many Potter fans. I hope I did him justice and captured what I feel like he's feeling in the middle of _Deathly_ _Hallows_.**

**ALSO: I forgot a disclaimer. I own nothing except my own writing.**

**Enjoy!**

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Dear Harry,

I remember you. Just a year ago, you leaned of a refuge, a safe-haven. You found a home in Hogwarts. Now you've realized that this new world isn't all that you thought. By now, you've undoubtedly realized the danger associated with you, you've faced a form of Lord Voldemort.

That's right, that was just one form. What you don't realize now, or maybe only guessed at, is that Voldemort will be returning. He will be an even greater threat than before, will start a wizarding war unlike anything you've ever imagined.

His main goal? To kill you.

That's right. Right now, you probably don't know what it feels like. You don't know that ever-constant threat, the sound of hundreds of people yelling at you, all saying the same thing: "We're going to kill you, Harry Potter." It used to be all about being disarmed, stunned for a moment or two. Now, where I am, you know that the curse flying over your head is aimed to seriously injure you, physically or mentally. It could be the one curse that kills you in an instant, without warning; it could be the one that kills your friends. It only takes one spell. Many people have died for you, Harry, and the true war hasn't even begun yet.

What's worse is knowing what lies ahead. Because as I sit here in this forest, on the run from the wizarding community and everyone that's intent on killing me, I already know what's going to happen. It's a gut feeling, like I've known it all along. It's got to be me. It's got to be me who faces Voldemort, and I know deep down that I've got to die, that I'm going to die at seventeen. I haven't told anyone yet, no one but you. Because it's going to be you. It will come to a point where you realize that, though death may come too quickly and too painfully, it's not an option anymore to have everyone you love die around you, for your sake.

You may not understand this now, but I'm sure you will.

For now, be content with what you have. Because, you know what? Despite everything that's coming your way in the next few years, despite all of the pain and loss that you will suffer, there's always good in the world. There are lights of hope along every step of the way. Never forget your friends—they are the best you'll ever have. Ron and Hermione will stick with you the entire way. You may have your quarrels, but in the end you'll always come back to each other, because they're going to become your family. So never let go of them. Remember: love is your greatest weapon and it will never desert you.

Best of luck, Harry. Don't be afraid of what's to come: embrace it, for it will make you stronger than you could have ever imagined.

-Harry Potter, six years in the future

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**As always, reviews make me smile! Thank you everyone for reading!**


	4. Dear Draco

**After a somewhat lengthy delay, I have discovered two more chapters to this story on my computer. And, being currently overwrought with Potter emotions, I thought it would be a good time to share them. Here's dear old Draco's letter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

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Dear Draco,

Honestly, looking back, I don't know where it all went wrong. I mean, I think about you, just entering Hogwarts, and I don't see how you came to become me. You are always a bit of a prat, I will admit, but what I am now…can you be slightly evil without being a bad person?

I don't know what happened. Where everyone around you is going to become more confident, you'll become less and less confident until you end up in the position where you have to choose what is right and wrong. That is not an easy call, let me tell you. I thought I had it all planned, all figured out in my head, but it turns out that there are some things you just can not plan for. There are some emotions that you try to lock away but they end up coming out and attacking you. I know you hate to show emotion right now. All you want is to be right, to have the last word, to be superior. It is not that simple.

Let me ask you: what would you do if you had the opportunity to kill Albus Dumbledore today?

That would be wrong, wouldn't it? You probably wouldn't dream of it, even though you've been bred to hate him.

What about if you had to kill him in order to stay alive?

What if you had to kill him in order to keep your mother alive?

What if one day you wake up and realize that everything you've been doing for the past six years is useless? When you realize that the world is bigger than you, and there are some things that you just can not escape? There are some things you can not control? What do you do when the world is pressuring you to make a choice, a choice that once seemed simple but now seems beyond you?

I am going insane. But what do you know? You're just an eleven year old boy who thinks the only thing that matters is winning the attention of the potions master and watching Harry Potter and his friends fail.

Would you still feel as strongly as you do if you were suddenly in debt to Harry Potter? If, after all of the years of hating each other, he came through as the bigger man and saved your life, and you ran off as a coward?

It is different when you're here. Where you are now, you'd probably still hate Potter. You'd curse him for his weakness and his ability to make you feel inadequate. You'd show him no mercy even though he showed you something greater than mercy.

You'll realize that it is not black and white. One day. I am sure of it. You'll realize it one day.

Best of luck,

- Draco Malfoy in six years

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**As always, reviews are much appreciated! Thanks for reading!**

**~Penn**


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